Lithuania
Lithuania (Lithuanian: Lietuva) is one of the two Baltic countries in Europe, and a puppet German kingdom in Mitteleuropa, It is bordered by Germany and Poland to the west, the United Baltic Duchy to the north, White Ruthenia to the east and Ukraine to the south. History The history of the Kingdom of Lithuania starts as far back as the 13th century, with the unification of the Baltic tribes under the rule of Mindaugas, who accepted Christianity and was coronated as the first King of Lithuania. Even though he was soon assassinated by his rivals and the full baptism of the state had to wait, Mindaugas's primary legacy - the united Lithuanian nation - endured. Lithuania was the last European nation to accept Christianity and later united with Poland in what is known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Much like its partner, Lithuania was destroyed in the Partitions of the Commonwealth, and almost the entire nation was annexed by the Russian Empire. However, the spirit of the Lithuanian nation held on and strengthened during that time. The unsuccessful uprisings of 1830 and 1863 worsened the burden of annexation - the University of Vilnius was disestablished by the Tsarists, and the governorship of Mikhail Muravyov-Vilensky saw the beginning of a mass Russification program, started with a Lithuanian press ban in 1864. The Lithuanians responded with a development unique to them across all of history - book smuggling (knygnešiai). The 40-years long Russification period saw the beginning of the Lithuanian National Revival. This was the period when the modern Lithuanian nation developed, and many great writers created works in the name of it. The National Revival culminated in the Great Seimas of Vilnius in 1904, where the gathered intellectuals and Lithuanian representatives declared the Lithuanian right to autonomy within the Russian Empire. While the Lithuanians achieved the cancellation of the press ban, the fanning flames of the 1905 Revolution brought an end to the hopes of freedom. Thus, the Lithuanians turned west - if a great war were to happen between Germany and Russia, and Russia was defeated, perhaps the Lithuanians could achieve their lifelong goal... And thus, the Weltkrieg began. Elected by the Vilnius Conference in 1917, the Council of Lithuania was the first democratically elected organ on Lithuanian soil representing the Lithuanian people. Its desire to proclaim the independence of Lithuania was only inferior to the pressure surrounding it from all sides. Under the leadership of Antanas Smetona, it had to carefully maneuver against German demands to declare an alliance and a close-knit relationship, if not an outright annexation into Germany. On the other hand, the Ober Ost military administration allowed the Council to operate despite their separatist intentions - it was an important bargaining chip in justifying the cession of Lithuania in the negotiations for the treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In a short period of time, the Council of Lithuania promulgated no less than three declarations of independence - one on December 11th of 1917, which proclaimed Lithuania to be connected to Germany with permanent ties, a repeat of this act on January 8th, 1918, and a final act on February 16th, which omitted any mentions of alliance with the German Empire and declared that Lithuania’s ties with any foreign powers, as well as its form of government, would be decided by a democratically elected Constituent Assembly. These acts did not satisfy either the Ober Ost administration nor the Council itself. The Germans wanted no less but a declaration dictated from above, one which would give them complete puppet mastery over the fledgling state. The Council itself, however, was ideologically split. Antanas Smetona, seen as too pro-German and pro-monarchist by his Social Democratic peers, was replaced early in the year by Jonas Basanavičius, the “Patriarch of the Nation”, respected by the right and the left alike. However, though his leadership saw the proclamation of the Act of February 16, it became merely a signed paper rather than a meaningful document. The military leadership of Ober Ost envisioned Lithuania in a personal union with Prussia, and thus effectively annexed into the German Empire as a constituent state. King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony came out of the woodwork as well, citing the historical ties between his kingdom and Lithuania as reason why the throne should be handed to him. Both the Prussian and Saxon claims were contested by the Catholic states of the Empire, who protested the Protestant states receiving any more new power in an already imbalanced framework. The persona of Matthias Erzberger proved to be critical - he offered the candidacy of a fellow Catholic from Wurttemberg, Wilhelm Karl von Urach. His Catholic faith, credentials, and support for Lithuania over Poland in potential future conflicts made him a near-perfect candidate for the monarchists in the Council of Lithuania, and it enthusiastically proclaimed him King Mindaugas II of Lithuania on July 11th. This decision was initially opposed by the Ober Ost military government, but as time continued to pass and Germany grew increasingly war weary, a pragmatic solution to the “Lithuanian question” prevailed over militarist desires for Drang Nach Osten. In 1919, the military government allowed the Council of Lithuania to work publicly yet again, though with several concessions - Antanas Smetona was returned as the chairman of the Council, the remaining left-wing members were ousted and conservative replacements found. The Council also grew to include minority representatives from Poles, Belarusians and Jews. The Act of February 16 was approved, though with a guarantee given to Germany that the relationship between Lithuania and the Kaiserreich will be decided by the Constituent Assembly in their favor. On January 1st, 1920, King Mindaugas II was crowned, surprising the Lithuanian deputies by speaking to them in their own language, rather than German, and the Kingdom of Lithuania was officially born. The first act of the King was to announce elections to the Constituent Assembly and appoint an interim government to head the establishment of the state alongside him. Much to the surprise of many, however, the King relied not on Antanas Smetona and his Party of National Progress, the most fervent supporters of a Lithuanian monarchy, but rather the moderate democratic forces such as the Christian Democrats, numerous rural agrarian parties and the secular liberal Santara Party, and thus appointed Baron Stasys Šilingas as the first Prime Minister of Lithuania. It is believed that Mindaugas II, in his first meetings with the Council of Lithuania, figured out Smetona’s controlling, conservative and authoritarian attitude, and chose to instead guide Lithuania towards a more democratic framework. For Smetona, the man perhaps most responsible for the proclamation of the Kingdom, this was a slap across the face, and he would remember that. Politics in Lithuania swiftly organized along the national and pro-anti German rifts. Lithuania was not a nation just for Lithuanians - they barely composed a majority of the population, the rest divided between Poles, Belarusians, Jews and other ethnicities. They were all granted significant cultural autonomy and immediately started to organize politically. The Central Polish Electoral Committee (Lenkų centrinis rinkimų komitetas / Komitet Polaków na Litwie, LLK/KPL) would become the dominant force in the Bialystok region, while the Jewish Labour Bund (Bundas) would become the most overwhelming political force among the Jewish community by far - its sheer weight and cooperative nature made it the only private institution capable to challenge German businesses in the Lithuanian economy. The Lithuanians themselves were mostly divided among two parties - the right wing Christian Democratic Party of Lithuania (Lietuvos krikščionių democratų partija, LKDP), strongly in favor of the Lithuanian monarchy, and the left wing Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija, LSDP), which had been the only serious opponent to the monarchist system in the tumultuous first years of the nation, and thus united those who wished to see a Republic. Soon, however, a third force began to rise. Nationalism in Lithuania, briefly quenched by the declaration of independence at the end of the Weltkrieg, saw a resurgence during the 1920s. The laws of free expression allowed a revival of Lithuanian culture - numerous nationalist inclined arts and culture movements began to appear, the Prussian Lithuanian philosopher Vilhelmas Storosta-Vydūnas initiated a revival of the old Lithuanian faith, and dissatisfaction with Lithuania's Oststaat status started to rise. These nationalists started to rally around Antanas Smetona’s Party of National Progress, which had swiftly transformed itself into a nationalist party with a nativist, anti-German, anti-Polish and anti-semitic outlook. Though hardly an overwhelming force in elections to the Seimas, it garnered high support among the Lithuanian military, and chose its time to strike in 1928. King Mindaugas II of Lithuania, the “People’s King”, beloved by most of the country, died in his sleep on March 24th, 1928. Sickness had confined him to a bed years earlier, leaving many to believe that his heir apparent, Wilhelm von Urach, will succeed him to the throne, and he had been stepping up to this role, showing himself to be a capable administrator. Secretly, however, Wilhelm had been courting Elisabeth Theurer, a woman beneath his station, but whom he had fallen in love with. His father found out about this relationship eventually and forbade Wilhelm to continue courting Elisabeth - however, the heir secretly continued to write to Elisabeth and would constantly find ways to seek her out. News of the scandal soon reached the Lithuanian media and whipped up a storm, and Wilhelm was faced with an ultimatum - either break up with Elizabeth or abdicate any and all claim to the throne. He chose the latter, the title of heir apparent falling to his younger brother, Karl Gero. Karl Gero never sought to be King. Fully expecting his elder brother to succeed their father, he pursued his dream of being an architect, and was completing his studies in Munich when he was practically dragged out of the street and brought to Lithuania. A poor, deeply politically and culturally divided nation, distant from his home and his dreams, whom he was soon going to have to lead. Few saw him as a legitimate heir, even he did not see himself as a legitimate heir. But he had to assume the throne regardless, and was crowned shortly after his father’s death. Even assuming the name Vytautas, in recognition of the impending 500 year anniversary of the great Grand Duke’s death, did little to alleviate the people’s distrust in him. Vytautas II did not have the skills to lead a country and the power of the monarchy continued to wane. He did not command the same stature as his father - whereas Mindaugas II was a great boon to a nation as culturally and politically divided as Lithuania, Vytautas II swiftly turned into a liability. In this transitional period, Lithuanian nationalists acted to seize the day. A complex plan was drafted involving the capture of Vilnius and Memel by loyal nationalist units, the former to hold the King and the Seimas hostage, and the latter as a symbolic act of defiance against Germany by a country which was going to be held back by the Krauts no longer. This plan would culminate in the so-called “Memel Uprising”, during which a group of 50+ armed Lithuanians, wearing red bands with the Columns of Gediminas, attempted to seize control of the city, overpowering the local constabulary, only to get utterly massacred by the first German military reinforcements. The planned march on Vilnius never took place at all, as the Lithuanian police acted swiftly and busted several nationalist cells in the city in the following days. For Lithuanian nationalism, the bloody shirt of the martyrs in Memel would mark a new period in their struggle for a free Lithuania, while for others, it served as a reminder that something is rotten in the Kingdom… Antanas Smetona denied any involvement with the Memel Uprising and no concrete ties between him and the conspiracy were found. However, the Party of National Progress temporarily dissolved, only to reform as the Lithuanian Nationalist Union (Lietuvių tautininkų sąjunga, LTS), with the same leadership, party structure and ideology. Some believe the elderly leader of the Lithuanian right to be lying, others suspect a Syndicalist conspiracy, others think that Smetona may only be a mouthpiece and the man truly calling the shots is the charismatic, yet elusive whip of the party, Augustinas Voldemaras. The aftermath of the Memel Uprising would affect all parties in the political spectrum. The blowback from the nationalist rising would provide a boost to Polish and Jewish minority parties, as well as the Social Democrats, which successfully consolidated after the tumultuous twenties under the leadership of Steponas Kairys. Kairys chose to scale down the nationalist tendencies of his party, instead seeking to adopt an alliance with the Polish and Jewish minorities with promises of Austromarxist pluralistic “national cultural autonomy”. As the election of 1937 comes closer, they remain the most serious challenge to Christian Democratic hegemony. For now, the center right Christian Democratic government led by Prime Minister Leonas Bistras stands, having overseen significant economic growth since the early 1930s. Lithuania’s ties to Germany are paying off, as the latter’s economic miracle is seeping into the former. Demand is high, business is booming, and the government is turning increasingly certain that Lithuania may finally be able to assert its independence through strictly diplomatic means. Politics King of Lithuania: J.K.D. Vytautas II von Urach Prime Minister: Leonas Bistras Minister of Foreign Affairs: Juozas Urbšys Minister of the Economy: Valdemaras Vytautas Carneckis Minister of Internal Affairs: Antanas Smetona Head of the Department of National Security: Dovas Zaunius Chief of Staff: Jonas Galvydis-Bykauskas Chief of Army: Stasys Raštikis Chief of Navy: Garnis Dirmantas Chief of Air Force: Antanas Gustaitis Political Parties of Lithuania: The country itself is ruled by the weak, meek hand of Vytautas II von Urach, a vassalating man who never wanted the throne to begin with, and thus, he is heavily susceptible to influence by his ministers. The ruling and biggest party in the nation is the Christian Democratic Party of Lithuania (Lietuvos krikščionių demokratų partija, LKDP). Formed from the pro-German members of the Council of Lithuania and many Lithuanian intellectuals, the LKD is, as the name implies, in favor of conservatism, Christian democracy and a pro-German stance in foreign affairs. The party has been in power since the inception of the Republic of Lithuania. The leader of the Party is Leonas Bistras, a popular man who is in his fourth year of leadership. Under his administration, Lithuania's economy has grown exponentially. The main opposition party is the Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (Lietuvos socialdemokratų partija, LSDP). The chairman of the party is Steponas Kairys. The LSDP is a democratic socialist party and borrows ideas from Austromarxism, most notably the project for National Personal Autonomy, which they believe will be able to solve Lithuania's numerous ethnic and cultural problems. Far from the Overton Window of Lithuanian electoral politics stand two movements in direct opposition to one another. Formed in 1930, the Lithuanian Activist Front (Lietuvos aktyvistų frontas, LAF) unites the most radical strands of the right-wing nationalist spectrum. It dismisses the democratic process and instead operates in underground cells with the ultimate goal of an armed rebellion to tear down the illegitimate monarchy and break Lithuania free from the German grasp. The Lithuanian left sees weaker, less pronounced, but nevertheless noticeable tugging from the Aušrininkai - named after the underground periodical of the same name around which they organize, the “Aušrinė” organization recounts history as old as 1910, turn their eyes toward France and dream of the red Syndicalist banner flying over the tower of Gediminas. Military After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the need for the formation of a Lithuanian army under the King became imminent, and the effort of forming an early force of Lithuanian volunteers was headed by Silvestras Žukauskas, formerly an officer in Tsarist Russia. While his efforts were exemplary, his past as a Russian soldier made him untrustworthy, and Germany soon replaced him with Jonas Galvydis-Bykauskas, who heads the nation's army to this day. The Lithuanian Royal Armed Forces are composed of five infantry divisions and an interceptor wing, led by Antanas Gustaitis, a famous aviator, and airplane constructor. Conscription is mandatory and the army is very professional but is arguably the weakest in Mitteleuropa. Foreign Relations Lithuania is part of the Mitteleuropa economic alliance, and the Reichspakt military alliance. Very good relations with Germany and other countries in Mitteleuropa. Friendly relations with Poland. Category:Countries Category:European countries Category:Mitteleuropa Category:Monarchies Category:Reichspakt